


Has anyone seen Our Dad?

by Hawkeye221b



Category: Video Blogging RPF, jacksepticeye, jacksepticeye egos - Fandom
Genre: Chase's kids come help too, Henrik's Children go looking for him, Jacksepticeye egos, Let the Dads see their children, Marvin is a cat, Mystery Kids, Mystery kids AU, Not the AU we need nor Deserve, Sean McLoughlin Egos, The Good Doctor's Vacation isn't that great, cause why not
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2020-01-12 13:57:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18447980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hawkeye221b/pseuds/Hawkeye221b
Summary: Life was perfectly average for the Schneeplestien household; they were the perfect family that had everything.Until one day, they didn’t.Join Elyse and Lukas Schneeplestien as they go in search of their missing father, Dr. Henrik von Schneeplestien.





	1. How it all began

**Author's Note:**

> So a bunch of discord friends and i had a conversation that somehow came up with a Mystery Gang AU with the Septic Children and, while it was a bunch of random ideas, i decided to channel my inner Freddy Murcury and go "I'll fucking do it, Darling." 
> 
> So here we are.

      Life was fair average for the Schneeplestien siblings; Loving parents who both had steady jobs, a good home and education and, most importantly, the siblings had each other. Their father, The Good Doctor as he was known around town, loved the siblings with all his heart and even introduced them to his close friend, Mr. Chase Brody.

      Mr. Brody had two children he got to see on the weekends, which was when the two adults would occasionally let the children play together while they talked about boring adult stuff, like mutual friends the children rarely, if ever, saw. Still, despite everything, life was perfectly average for the Schneeplestien household; they were the perfect family that had everything.

      Until one day, they didn’t.

      It was just another day to the family; their father was called into work in the early morning on account of it being an emergency. Their mother mentioned something about it being one of the friends the siblings rarely saw, but she left it at that and the two children didn’t think to question it when their father didn’t return for breakfast.

      Nor did they think much of it when he missed lunch.

      At dinner, they were worried.

      By the next morning, the siblings were nearing an extreme panic as the eavesdropped on their mother, who was calling the hospital their father worked at.

_“What do you mean he’s gone?! Gone where?!”_

      The two siblings looked at each other with worry clear in their little eyes as someone spoke on the other end of the phone, too quiet for the children to hear. Their mother sighed heavily and nodded absentmindedly.

      “I know it’s stressful… Henrik’s probably gone and fallen asleep on a bench somewhere… I’ve got to wake the children up for school, but thank you for letting me know Peter... I’m sure Henrik will be home later today. Call me if you see him later, okay?”

      The two children scrambled to return to their rooms before their mother could see them, determined to not let the odd conversation get the better of them. The Schneeplestien children were determined to have another normal day;

      They’d go to school where they’d eat lunch and play with the Brody children, they’d playfully antagonize the school librarian and, at the end of the day, they’d come home to where their loving mother and father would be waiting.

      The day was as normal as it could be, almost following the pattern to the letter.

**_Almost._ **

      When Elyse and Lukas Schneeplestien returned home that day, their father was nowhere to be found; having seemingly vanished off the face of the earth without so much of a trace. The only evidence of Henrik Von Schneeplestien’s existence was a broken family and a man trapped in a coma.

      For seven agonizing months, the rumor mill would go wild about what happened to The “Good” Doctor, all ranging from him leaving for a secret lover to a jealous outsider murdering the poor man so he could sweep the Missus off her feet. During this time, the small family found themselves shrinking into themselves; becoming far more reclusive and elusive to the townsfolk. Soon enough, the children’s mother stopped inviting Mr. Brody over for dinner and the siblings saw less and less of their friends with every passing day.

      For seven months, there was neither hide nor hair of the missing Doctor, until one fateful day, when Lukas found a bloodstained postcard laying on his pillow, a near identical one addressed to his sister. Lukas studied his postcard carefully, flipping it over to read the message on the back.

_“my dearest son,_

_i am sorry to contact you this way, as well as the manner oF my sudden departure. I assure you i am perfectly happy where i am! the beach i fiNd myself residing in is quite Desolate and solitary… it is a good place for such a stressed mind, no?_

_I am so sorry it took this long to write to you… time is a fickle thing here my boy…_

_lukas, you’ll take care for your sister and mother for me, won’t you?_

_wishing you were here,_

_your father”_

      The letter confused Lukas, what with the improper grammar and all… his father was a man of great repute and had insisted on teaching the children the importance of proper grammar as they grew up... he wouldn’t have written such a letter so carelessly!

      And yet… perhaps if he strung the incorrectly capitalized letters together… then perhaps…

      Yes, the letter _couldn’t_ be random! It _had_ to be something… it had to _mean_ something! If Lukas put the letters together, he would get;

_F-I-N-D_

      His father had given him some kind of clue! “FIND” … but who did his father want him to find?!

      Lukas turned to face Elyse, who had turned to face him at the exact same moment and, in a flash, they traded letters, scanning the words for what the other might have missed.

_“my dearest daughter,_

_oh my darling girl… you do not understand how much Joy the memories of you have brought me these pAst months. I wish you were here with me my dear… you’d love the beaChes here… you could even fly that Kite chase bought you last chrIstmas!_

_Elyse, my darling love; i know these past months have Been trying on all Of you, and i’ve never felt more ashamed of myself for leaving all of You behind so suddenly, but i have a request of you;_

_take care of your brother for me, would you? So long as you two are together, **nothing** you do will be impossible._

_i’m wishing you both were here with me,_

_your father”_

      Lukas picked the letter apart with the same tactic he’d used in his own letter, mentally mapping out the word in his mind.

_J-A-C-K-I-E-B-O-Y_

      Jackieboy… that name sounded vaguely familiar to Lukas and he wasn’t sure why… but the important thing was that one thing was becoming _very_ apparent; their father wanted the siblings to find this person. Lukas looked to his sister solemnly as she spoke softly.

      “Lukas… you don’t think… you don’t think daddy wants us to find this person for him, do you?”

      Lukas didn’t hesitate for even a second as he moved to sit at the edge of his bed, excitement threatening to bubble upwards.

      “Of course, he does! Why else would he send these to us? And in a _code_ no less!”

      His sister didn’t look too convinced, her brows furrowing with worry.

      “But don’t you think its… _weird_ to get these **_now_** _?_ I mean… after all this time? And how did they get on our _beds?_ Surely mom would have noticed them in the post, right? And if she did, why would she put them on our beds, instead of taking them somewhere else… Like to the police?”

      Lukas hated admitting his sister had some good points… but the excitement was too much now! He just _knew_ their father was trying to reach out to them and they **_needed_** to find this Jackieboy for him! Lukas didn’t know how or why, but he had a gut feeling that this was bigger than just some dumb code.

      “Well… let’s go ask her then! She has a right to know…”

      Elyse slid off of her bed to follow her brother, who’s footsteps were as fast as they were sure, marking the course straight to where their mother was sitting, book in hand. She looked up in surprise at her children as they held out what she thought were two pieces of scrap paper. She took them cautiously and looked them over as Lukas spoke in a surprisingly serious tone of voice.

      “Mom, have you seen these? They were on our beds when we came home.”

      The siblings looked at her expectantly as she tried not to roll her eyes, handing the papers back to them.

      “Lukas, honey… I know I haven’t been as involved with you two as I used to be… but I have a lot on my plate right now and I don’t have time for your games anymore.”

      The siblings looked at each other in confusion as their mother book marked her page before standing up and smoothening her outfit calmly.

      “Mom, we aren’t playing a game! We found these postcards on our beds! They’re from dad, see?! It’s his handwriting on the back! He gave us a coded message that said to _find Jackieboy!_ It’s right _there_ mom! _”_

      Lukas and Elyse watched as their mother stiffened and turned to face the two, her face failing to mask her emotions as she bent to face her children in the eyes.

      “Lukas Fritz Schneeplestien, don’t you _dare_ mention that man in this house! Your father may have been friends with him, but I want no part in whatever…. _Shenanigans_ he gets up to with that “band” of his or whatever it is he does!”

      The siblings were taken aback, stepping away from their mother in confusion and slight fear at her sudden harshness. Sensing her children’s fear, their mother took a deep breath and spoke again, her voice much softer this time.

      “Honey, I know you miss your father… I miss him too, but we have to face the facts; Henrik left us, and I don’t think he’s ever coming back. I know it’s been tough on you two, and I haven’t exactly been the kind of person you can fall back on when you need them… but we need to keep our chins up and keep moving forwards, okay? Your father wouldn’t want you two to waste away over him… I’m meeting Rick for dinner this afternoon… I could ask him if he’d be willing to take you two into the city this weekend, how about that?”

      Lukas was at a loss for words… how could she not see what was right in front of her? How could she just…. _Ignore_ their father’s message for help?! Did it _matter_ what this Jackieboy got up to? If their father wanted them to find him, then that meant he could **_help them!_** Lukas wanted to say _something_ as their mother tried to smile warmly… but nothing would come out! To his relief and slight surprise, Elyse was the one who spoke next.

      “Rick, the tennis instructor? Mom, how _could you?!_ Daddy’s out there and he needs _help!_ He sent these postcards to us so we _could_ help him and you want to go on a _date?!_ ”

      Their mother’s face turned from surprise to anger to shock, realizing what her words meant to the young girl who was trying her hardest not to cry.

      “Elyse…”

      “Don’t “ _Elyse”_ me! You’re the one pretending he’s dead! Well he sent us these letters with a message! He’s **_not_** dead! He’s **_not_** and Lukas and I are going to prove it!”

      Elyse was screeching now as a few tears escaped and ran down her cheeks. Without another word, the young girl ran away from the other two and off towards her room. Looking back at his mother with a saddened expression, Lukas sighed and faced her for what his gut was telling him would be the last time as he spoke in a surprisingly calm voice.

      “Elyse and I are going to try and find dad… We’re probably going to Mr. Body’s house first, so have fun on your date with _Rick._ ”

      Lukas said the last man’s name like it was a vile poison before turning heel and running after his sister, who was already stuffing backpacks with cloths, food and whatever allowance money she’d saved up, looking expectantly at her brother until he did the same, folding the postcard carefully and placing it gently into his pocket as he now followed his sister’s lead, nodding along silently as she spoke with free falling tears.

      “We’ll go to Mr. Brody’s house first... he and dad were friends, so he might know who this Jackieboy is… after that, we’ll see where we can go from there.”

      And so, the two set out down the path towards their friends’ home with their hearts set on the renewed hope of finding their father… however, unbeknownst to the two siblings, as they walked side by side, a pair of piercing blue eyes followed them with laser focus as the pure white cat began to follow them from afar, the symbols upon its head glowing ever so slightly; the message had been received and the plan was set into motion…

      Marvin just hoped the kids were smart enough to figure the rest of it out before it was too late.


	2. Enter Chase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chase enters the picture

      Chase Brody was having one of those weeks that just didn’t add up but somehow still happened; firstly, his ex-wife Stacy had been arrested on a DUI _with their children in the car no less_ , which somehow ended up with him getting full custody of them for the foreseeable future _,_ then he’d gotten a video call from JJ of all people, who had been furiously signing about how Marvin was still missing and had been asked for the _thousandth_ time if he’d seen Jackieboy recently (he hadn’t seen any of the others since Henrik’s disappearance) and finally, he just got off the phone with Henrik’s wife, who sounded like she wanted to explode and had explained Lukas and Elyse would be walking over to spend time with his own children while she went on her date with that Tennis Instructor guy and to ask if they could stay the weekend at his place because she wasn’t willing to drive over and pick them up… So naturally Chase went into Instant Panic Mode™ because _what the shit, why are they walking over his house is literally 4 miles away from theirs, holy shit how could she just **let them** **walk??**_

      That’s how Chase found himself semi-speeding down the road in search of the Schneeplestien children. In the backseat, Greyson was bouncing up and down as he tried scanning the sidewalks for his friends while Sam was trying her best to keep her brother from unbuckling his seatbelt. By foot, it would usually take Chase about an hour to walk from his home to Henrik’s, but given the fact Lukas and Elyse were _children_ , it would take them even longer. Luck seemed to be on the Brody Family’s side as Sam final spotted them trudging along the side of the road. Chase pulled over almost instantly and hopped out of the still running car and called to get the two children’s attention.

      “Lukas! Elyse!”

      The two children snapped to attention at their names, blinking for only a moment before running over to see him, Elyse almost instantly wrapping her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. The lack of communication worried Chase, especially since Lukas looked like he’d seen a puppy get kicked and Elyse looked like she’d been crying for a good while. It took some maneuvering, but Chase managed to get the two additional children into the car and was about to return himself when Greyson started yelling in excitement, lightly smacking his sister in an attempt to get her attention before pointing out of the window towards where Chase had just picked up the Schneeplestien kids.

      “Sammy look!! It’s Snowball!! Dad, dad, dad, dad!!! We can’t leave him behind!!”

      Chase turned his attention to where his son was pointing, seeing a surprisingly large, fluffy white cat sitting on the sidewalk, it’s eyes trained on the car in an eerie calm. Chase was still trying to piece together why Henrik’s wife would let these kids _walk_ to his house, so instead of rationally saying they couldn’t just take the stray, he jumped out once more and grabbed the cat, earning an irritated meow, and set them in the back with the kids. It was only once they returned home did Chase notice the… _markings_ on Snowball’s forehead; they were card suits, perfectly formed and in the exact order on his friend’s mask… Chase _really_ would have liked to question the cat, odd as that sounded, but he had more pressing matters to attend to; like the two children who were trying to not cling to him or cry.

      “Alright… Sam, take Greyson into your room and get some stuff ready for Lukas and Elyse; they’re probably really tired from all that walking and are probably going to want to relax… I’m going to talk to them for a bit, okay?”

      Sam looked pretty nervous, but Greyson distracted her by running towards his room with an extra pep in his step as… _Snowball_ … followed them silently.  Chase turned his attention back to the other two as he gently led them into his “study”, making sure he closed the door firmly but gently as he sat down on one of the many bean bags that occupied the room. Lukas looked less upset than before, but he was defiantly on the edge of his seat while Elyse looked exhausted, but otherwise relaxed.

      “So... either of you care to explain why you’re both upset?”

      Elyse looked like she wanted to say something, but was doubting herself to the point where she remained silent… Lukas’s face fell into a surprising darkness before he spoke quietly, as if he was afraid, he’d start yelling uncontrollably.

      “We… we found something from Dad… he sent us postcards… Mom didn’t like that we told her about them… we tried showing them to her but… it was like there was _nothing_ there for her! She got all mad and then we got mad and then we started walking to your place, because we thought you might know something…”

      Chase was slightly surprised when Lukas handed him what _appeared_ to be two random scraps of paper, but once Chase blinked, they changed into bloodstained postcards. Chase couldn’t help but frown as he inspected the familiar handwriting of Henrik, noting the obviously coded messages: **_“Find Jackieboy”_** …

 _Not like we haven’t been **trying** to find him, Hen… But why now? Why send these to your **children?** They’re just kids… and if _ **He** _finds them… what’s on earth is going on in that head of yours?_

      Chase silently mulled over his options; He could tell the kids to not worry about it and try to keep them acting like kids… or he could throw them a bone and interrogate what he _hoped_ was his old friend before letting this go any further. Of course, knowing Lukas and Elyse, shrugging them off was _never_ an option… not unless he wanted them to get into even _more_ danger than necessary. Chase didn’t really blame them… they were _Henrik’s kids_ after all…

      “You’re not wrong Kiddo, the thing is… well, it’s complicated. I haven’t seen or heard from Jackie in ages, and I haven’t had the time to try and meet any of your father’s _other_ friends in a while.”

      As Chase spoke, he could see the light return to the children’s gazes as they clung to his every word… _Shit._

      “Tell you what, I have a plan! I have all the stuff from your dad’s office in one of the back rooms, so here’s what I propose: If you two _promise me_ you’ll rest and relax with Greyson and Sam, I’ll let you go through everything of his tomorrow… you might find some clues I missed.”

      Lucky for Chase, the two kids nodded heavily and ran out of the room before he could say or do anything else. As Chase watched them go with mild amusement, the cat returned and was staring at him expectantly. Chase got up and closed the door once more before looking back at the cat with extreme irritation.

      “So… _Snowball_ , huh?”

      The cat flicked his tail in annoyance before speaking, unsurprising to Chase.

      “It’s not my fault your son named me that… and it’s not like I can _tell_ him my actual name, now can I?”

      Chase signed heavily, rubbing his temples as he spoke quietly.

      “So… what’s the deal Marv? JJ’s been worried sick and then I find you tailing some kids? Why are you still a cat? What’s going _on?_ ”

      Marvin moved closer to Chase, his eyes full of sorrow and worry as he spoke.

      “A week ago, I found a letter from Henrik; it was addressed to me, even though I was on the move during that time. In the letter, he asked me to send those postcards to his kids, and keep an eye on them… he wants them to find Jackie, but that’s the extent of their involvement… And as for the cat thing… well, a spell backfired and I wasted a lot of energy to make sure those postcards could only be read by the right people.”

      Chase was still upset, but nodded in understanding as Marvin stretched out rather lazily.

      “Fine, I get it… but as soon as we find Jackie, those kids are _done_ with our affairs; There’s a reason Henrik wanted them to stay away from it all, and I _refuse_ to endanger them. If I get the feeling they’re even _slightly_ in danger, I’m pulling the plug on this.”

      Marvin nodded silently and, if he wasn’t a cat, he’d actually be smiling a little. Leave it to Chase to be the mother hen… he always _was_ the more emotional of everyone.

      “You really think those kids can find some kind of clue in all of Henrik’s junk?”

      It was Chase’s turn to smile as he made eye contact with the fluffy magician.

      “If there’s one thing I know Marv, it that those two are crazy smart… If anyone can find something on Henrik, it’s them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :3c
> 
> Ages for kids:  
> Lukas and Elyse are both 12  
> Sam is 10  
> Greyson is 6


	3. Greyson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Greyson Brody is the youngest son of Chase Brody... and Greyson has nightmares, all the time.

_Greyson was back in the cold, dark room he often found himself in when he closed his eyes to sleep. The room wasn’t dark in terms of light sources, but rather in the sense of the room seemed to… suck the color out of the air. It was like the room was made of nothingness and, though it felt vast and endless, Greyson couldn’t help but feel small and trapped when he was there._

_Greyson hated the room he couldn’t seem to escape, no matter how many books and videos he looked up on Lucid Dreaming… at least, that’s what Dad said he was going through, and Dad knew everything! But even still, no amount of lucid preparations could take the room away from Greyson’s mind as he slept; unable to evade the mind-numbing cold and those whispers that seemed to crawl into his mind and stir up his deepest, darkest memories and feelings... the ones Sammy said they weren’t supposed to talk about, cause it upset Dad._

_The day their mother had finally snapped and hurt their father._

_The look of sick satisfaction on her face when no one could see through her sick façade and the judge person let her take them away from Dad._

_The day his mom had told them Dad was in the hospital because he got really hurt._

_The memories of resenting his mother for everything, even when he couldn’t say it._

_The burning disgust he felt when no one took him seriously… It was all there, tucked away in the back of Greyson’s mind until the whispers drew them outwards._

_Greyson could swear that the memories where almost Physical at times; playing all around him like some kind of sick Virtual Reality that he couldn’t escape from._

_Which was why this visit was so odd for him… the whispers were silent. The room’s nothingness had shifted into… something far more akin to a cage and, for the first time since Greyson had first visited the horrible place,_ he wasn’t alone.

_In the far distance, Greyson could see two, rather hazy figures; one of them was standing over the other, who was curled into themselves and seemed to be crawling away from the other figure, and Greyson could feel the strangely defiant terror that radiated off of the figure, while the other’s demeanor oozed confidence and ease. Greyson could feel himself draw closer to the pair, though he himself never moved. Greyson could see that the standing figure, a strange looking… man? Entity? … they were laughing at the other person, who was still coming into focus, but felt strangely familiar to Greyson. The standing figure, who’s very presence set all of Greyson’s hairs on end, was still laughing as they spoke, a grotesquely bright smile plastered onto their face._

**“Give it up Doc… no one is coming to save you; you’re all _alone_ … Just tell me where I can find that pathetic… _hero_ of his, and I’ll let you out.”**

_The figure’s voice sounded like it went through a video editor’s blender, high pitched and glitched… like,_ actually **glitched** _… how was that even possible?? It didn’t really matter… the only other thing Greyson could discern was the fact the voice sounded Male and as they (he?) spoke, he moved around wildly and seemed to glitch in and out of reality and, when he moved, Greyson could see an open and bleeding wound, right on the thing’s neck._

_Greyson didn’t believe a word of it, and it appeared the second figure didn’t either. As they opened their mouth to retort, Greyson was hit with the realization of what was happening as soon as words left the man’s mouth._

      “And I should trust **_you?_** I’d rather die.”

_In the moments that followed, Greyson knew two things; Number one was that Mr. Schneeplestien was alive… and number two was that his response caused the… the **demon** of a man to growl in a feral anger, before the snarl turned into a twisted smile, as his voice was filled with mock sympathy before his foot made contact with the Doctor’s stomach._

**“Now, now Doc… we both know you wouldn’t give up like that… it’s not in our nature. We. _Don’t_. Die. Now, let’s try this again, yeah? Where. Is. _That. Damn. Hero?!”_**

_Mr. Schneeplestien sputtered and gasped for air in pain as he rolled into a sitting position, his eyes full of anger and spite._

      “I. Would. Rather. _Die._ I will _never_ tell someone like **_you_**.”

_Greyson could see the demon preparing for another attack, and found himself moving before he could think; shouting nothings into the void in a vain attempt to help somehow… and the strangest thing about it?_

_The demon actually stopped mid-attack, and looked in Greyson’s direction… as in, **directly** in his direction, a look of puzzled confusion quickly taking over the snarling rage. Almost in an instant afterwards, the man abandoned Mr. Schneeplestien and started stalking towards Greyson, reaching out as if to grab him, only for his hand to swipe right through the young boy, who was having a hard time breathing at this point, as he now could see the demon in his entirety… and what he saw scared him as the demon chuckled darkly._

**“Of fuckin course… why didn’t I think of that earlier? There’s _always_ another way to do these things…”**

_He trailed off as he turned to face the other adult once more, laughing as if there was no tomorrow as a knife seemed to appear out of nowhere._

**“Why should I waste my time on a useless, pathetic whelp like you, Doc… when I can get what I need from some brand-new puppets? Oh, we might have the most sway right now… but most of us won’t be here forever, Doc… that’s why you ran off last week, isn’t it? You _knew_ the brats would be like us… You won’t tell me because you _don’t know where he is!_ You **knew **they’d have the abilities to find the pathetic excuse of a “hero” … you ran off long enough to send something, didn’t you? You were trying to secure the future of our kind! Quite the brilliant plot, don’t you think, little puppet?”**

 _Greyson felt his blood run cold as his body felt like it was on fire and everything around him was getting clearer and clearer, and Greyson could see the look of terror and horror in Mr. Schneeplestien’s eyes. The demon’s laughter was getting louder now and Greyson wanted nothing more than to be **anywhere** but that room as he could sense the whispers slowly returning and the maniacal gleam in the demon’s eyes sparkled with something Greyson doubted, he’d ever forget… it was a look of pure murder. Greyson could feel himself begin to shake violently, and he could hear something… some_one _distantly calling his name…_

_“Grey….son…. GrEy….SoN…”_

      “ _Greyson!_ Greyson buddy, I need you to wake up!”

      Greyson’s eyes snapped open in terror as he shot upright and out of his bed, breathing heavily for a moment before registering the look of concern on his father’s face… the face that looked eerily like the face of both the Demon man and Mr. Schneeplestien. Greyson didn’t know what to say or do, too overwhelmed with the feeling that somehow, someway, the eyes of the demon were still lingering on him.

      Greyson could only cry as he ran to his dad and buried his head into the man’s chest. Chase was more than concerned, but the questioning could wait… at the moment, he needed to calm his son down, let him be with the other kids, who could help him with some sense or normalcy, then he needed to have a nice, _long_ talk with Marvin… He'd been worried about how what… what _they_ were would effect his children, and if the surge of magical energy Marvin had alerted him to was any indication, it seemed his son was the first to discover them…

      Chase knew he had to tread carefully; one wrong move and **He** would know… and **He** would come to turn the children into hollowed versions of themselves…

      Chase would rather die before he let that damn Glitch Bitch touch _any_ of his children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These children are Ego children.. stuff's bound to be up with them.


	4. The box in the study

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang goes searching for clues!

As soon as Elyse saw Greyson enter the back room she and her brother had invaded, she knew something was very, _very_ wrong. He was silently following his sister into the room, after hearing Mr. Body call for her. Elyse gave the younger girl a questioning look as Lukas grabbed another box from the surprisingly big closet and plopped it down next to her, sitting down to be with her. Sam moved her brother through their small clutter and he sat down quietly, a look of silent horror slowly fading from his young features. Sam and Elyse made eye contact and, while the boys weren’t paying attention, mouthed an explanation.

_Nightmare._

Elyse… she knew Sam was probably right… but she couldn’t help but feel like there was something _more_ to this… something **_sinister_**. Something in the back of her mind told her this wasn’t a nightmare, and Greyson was in danger, though she couldn’t tell if the threat was real or not… it was like his mind was a crystal clear pond, and _something_ was trying to stir up the bottom, sending ripples outwards that threatened to turn into monstrous waves… something told Elyse that thing like that should _never_ be touched, especially in relation to someone like Greyson.

“Hey El; you gonna keep glaring at the floor or are you gonna help us?”

Lukas’ voice snapped Elyse out of her thoughts as she blinked in surprise and grabbed a random box from within their new stash. The box was the size of a lunchbox and looked pretty ordinary, with a single metal clasp that kept the dark wooden container closed. As Elyse turned the box over to what she assumed was the top, she found herself studying the engraving that adorned it. It was a simple, if not cartoonish, singular eyeball and Elyse couldn’t help but feel it was… _important_. As carefully and slowly as she could, Elyse released the latch and opened the box, causing something to tumble out. Turning her attention towards the item, she saw it was a piece of paper… no, it was a picture!

She picked it up and turned it over, studying every person in the photo: Her eyes landed on her father first as his image smiled back at her with a joy, she’d only ever seen him display when she and Lukas did something to make him proud (which was pretty much anything). Then her attention shifted to his left, where Mr. Brody stood; he was smiling brightly as well, his face scrunched up like the picture caught him in the middle of an intense fit of laughter. Next to him was three more figures Elyse didn’t know and one she barely did; One man had long hair he put in a bun, wore a blue shirt, cape and a cat mask; Another man looked like your average guy, aside from having dark green hair and a bright red jacket; The third one looked rather well dressed, with a bright blue vest, bowler cap and a pretty well-groomed mustache. The last guy just looked content, as if he didn’t have a care in the world, so long as he was by his friends… it was the friend her father went in early to see that day… the last life he saved before vanishing.

Looking a bit further into the box, Elyse found more and more photos of this group, and after what felt like ages, she found a picture that had a description on the back.

_Chase’s Engagement Celebration; Chase, Marvin, Jackie, Henrik, Jack and ---_

The last name was violently scratched out with a pen, and the face of the person was badly damaged, and their whole body was blotched and destroyed, making them unrecognizable… but throughout all the photos, one thing was becoming increasingly clear to her:

All of them had, more or less, the _same face_ … and Elyse was pretty sure none of them were related. But the more important thing was that the picture with the description labeled them in the order the group was standing… meaning the man in the middle was the one they were looking for.

“I found him! Look here; it’s labelled in the order they’re standing… in the middle! That’s _got_ to be him!”

In an instant, Elyse was surrounded by the other children, who looked at the photo with such intensity that it slightly worried her. Lukas was quiet for a few moments before turning his attention to one of the other photos, which Elyse had decided was recent-ish and his look of concentration was broken by a wide grin as he held up the first photo she’d found and pointed to the one who had a mustache and dressed really proper.

“It’s Mr. Jackson! He works at that clock shop in the city… the one Mom loves going too, because they have that _really old_ grandfather clock. He works in the back… I’ve seen him a couple times when we went in to get something fixed, but he always ran into the back when he saw me…”

When Elyse tried to think back, she had the vague memory of seeing the man in said shop and she couldn’t help but smile as she turned to her brother.

“If he and dad were friends… he might know about Jackieboy! If Mr. Brody hasn’t talked or seen him… maybe he has!”

Lukas nodded enthusiastically.

“If we talk to him, he might know more!”

Greyson raised his hand timidly, catching everyone’s attention before speaking in a quiet voice.

“How are you gonna get to the city? You can’t walk there… and I don’t think your mommy would like it if you told her what your plans _really_ were…”

Sam perked up and semi-shouted a response.

“There’s a festival going on this week! School’s getting out early all week because a lot of people have stuff in the contests, so we could use that as excuse and then sneak off to see Mr. Jackson!”

Before any of the children could confirm or deny, another voice spoke from the doorway.

“Nope, no sneaking off into a big city without adult super vison!”

The kids turned to look at Sam and Greyson’s father, their faces paling as they did so. He didn’t _look_ mad… just disappointed and… and kind of sad. With that, he continued calmly.

“However, I am willing to take you to see JJ, but you can’t go running off without me, got it? The city is a very dangerous place, especially for kids.”

The kids nodded instantly before putting all of the junk away, save for the engraved wooden box. The all grinned at the adult, who noted that Greyson was looking much better than before. Chase smiled back at them and stood to the side, opening the door back up.

“I’ll make the pancakes; you four can do whatever you want… I just have to do some work in my study, so I can’t look after all of you for a bit. That okay?”

Again, the kids nodded and ran out of the room, smiling at the promise of food. Chase closed the door for a moment as the cat ran into the room and hopped onto the other packed boxes, staring that the one Elyse had left behind, his eyes full of worry as he spoke softly, fearing detection from the children who had run to the other side of the house.

“Chase, I managed to decipher the energy that was coming from the kid... Greyson’s an Empath. I think Henrik’s emotions, where ever he is, were strong enough to trigger his awakening… and now, Henrik’s girl is starting to wake up… I could sense it. She looked at your boy and somehow saw his mentality, or at least, she was what is _should_ be, given that she's still a kid and might visualize it in a way that's rational for her… I can only guess what Sam and Lukas will be, or what they’ll do…”

Chase sighed heavily, rubbing his temples as his friend continued.

“Chase, you need to take them to JJ _fast_ … their abilities are waking up and once they’re fully realized, we’ll be out of time. He’ll find us and then them and everything will be lost… Then they’ll be no one left to guard Jack.”

“I _know_ Marv, but there has to be **_something_** you can to do slow it down! They’re still _kids!”_

“I don’t like this anymore than you do Chase! I’m doing everything in my power to keep them under the radar right now, but it’s kind of hard to do when they keep waking themselves up! You have to get them to where they need to go.”

“And I will! I just don’t want to throw them into something they can’t handle!”

_“We may not have that luxury Chase!”_

The argument was interrupted by a knock at the door. Chase and Marvin froze before Chase pulled out his phone frantically and spoke loudly as the door opened to let Greyson’s head peek through.

“Sorry Marv… I gotta go, kids need breakfast.”

And he “hung up” quickly, turning to face his son.

“Hey bud… sorry about that… So, Pancakes, right?”

As Chase rushed the boy out of the room, Marvin sat quietly, flicking his tail in frustration as something… _dark_ poked at the edge of his mind, and he lashed out with what little magic he could spare.

_You might recognize my magic, and Chase might be acting irrational right now… but you sure as hell aren’t getting to the kids through me._

And somewhere, very, very far away, a dark figure chuckled at the futile attempt by the pathetic magician. Oh sure, he was keeping the man off his trail for now, sending mixed signal after mixed signal, but all he was _really_ doing was using up his magic…

**_Can’t hide the little ones forever Marv… We’ll see each other face to face soon enough._ **


	5. Dreamcatchers and Festivals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team goes on a mission to find the clock maker Jameson Jackson

In the days following the discovery of the wooden box and its contents, Chase found himself becoming increasingly worried about his children. When they weren’t negotiating on a “playdate” at the festival, Chase noticed how quiet and lethargic Greyson was becoming, especially when he started noticing the telltale signs of shadowy bags appearing under his son’s eyes. Chase spoke to Marvin, who had been sleeping near the boy incase another outburst occurred, but he had felt little to none over the past days… He only reported some faint trails of magic forming and dissipating around Sam as she slept. It all came to a head when Greyson collapsed in the living room a day before they were set to go find JJ. Chase sent Sam, who had been acting rather irrational and snappy in recent days only to be confused and apologize afterwards, out of the room to do her homework before school, while he confronted the little boy.

“Greyson, buddy… I need you to look at me.”

The small boy did so slowly, blinking several times and Chase could see the weariness in his eyes.

“How much sleep did you get last night? You’ve looked like a zombie for the past few days bud.”

Greyson just shook his head and Chase quickly had to wipe away the tears that appeared as he spoke softly with a surprising amount of terror in his small voice.

“Can’t sleep… I _won’t!_ I don’t wanna go back… not there… not to _that_ place! N-not with **_Him_** there! P-Please don’t make me go back... I c- ** _can’t do it anymore._** ”

Chase hushed his son quickly pulling him closer as he comforted the boy and picked him up before gently taking him back to his room and setting him on his bed. Chase then, after ensuring his son was alright, ran out of the room and went to his own room, grabbed the item he was looking for and ran back to the boy’s side, holding it out for his son to see as he spoke calmly.

“This is a dreamcatcher; legends say it catches bad dreams while you sleep and keeps them trapped. Most dreamcatchers are fake, but _this one_ was made by my friend Marvin, and Marvin is the _greatest_ Magician I’ve ever known. He made this for me when your mother and I separated, to stop all my bad dreams and it really helped… so I’m giving it to you. As long as you have it hanging above you as you sleep, no bad dreams will _ever_ come to you.”

Chase stood and hung it above the little boy’s bed, smiling reassuringly to his son, who whispered a rely.

“What about school? Mom will be mad if I miss classes…”

Chase ruffled the boy’s hair before leaning in to whisper back.

“Well, she’s not here and I say you need to stay home and sleep today; no ifs, ands or butts.”

The last part got a little giggle out of the boy, who was already falling asleep as they spoke and, as Chase stood up, he could see the faint glow emanating from the dreamcatcher and he knew his son would be alright. Chase walked out of the room, picked up his friend who let out an indignant sound and deposited him beside the now sleeping child, quietly whispering to him.

“Keep an eye on him… I gave him your dreamcatcher, but an extra set of eyes never hurt anyone.”

And with that, Chase turned, left, closing the door gently as he did so. Before grabbing his keys and driving Sam to school for the day, walking to the front office and calmly explained Greyson was having trouble sleeping, so he was staying home for the day, which everyone agreed and said they understood, given the events of the past week and a half, they didn’t doubt all that would get to the younger of the two.

What Chase hadn’t told his son was that the dreamcatcher caught more than just dreams; it was a tool Marvin would use to clear his mind when he needed to focus, and that dreams were nonexistent when it activated…. Greyson had never slept as soundly as he did that day, sleeping the rest of the day and almost through the next day, until Chase woke him up so they could all go see JJ.

Once both children were awake, The Brody family drove over to the Schneeplestien household, where Lukas and Elyse were waiting anxiously, their mother standing beside a nice-looking man as Chase hopped out of the car and walked up to her as they ran to his car.

“Thank you again for taking them Chase… They haven’t been the same since Henrik left; Rick’s been great, but they just don’t want to talk to him and won’t let him tell them the facts… I’ve been at a loss for what to do with them…”

Chase put on a brave face and smiled in what he hoped was a knowing way.

“I understand… When Stacy and I split, it wasn’t the easiest on Sammy and Greyson either, but they’re younger and thankfully moved on a bit quicker. I’m just happy to help however I can. The faire is a good place to let them just be kids for the day.”

The man beside Henrik’s wife smiled brightly and quietly spoke to Chase.

“Hey man, if you see anything those kids like while you’re out there, let me know, will you? They won’t let me near their room long enough for me to find any common ground.”

Chase did his best to not make a sour face at the man, Rick if he remembered correctly. Asking the kids was one thing… but resorting to something that would no doubt destroy whatever trust they had in him for the sake of a near stranger? No. Way.

Despite this, Chase managed to excuse himself and returned to the car, turning to face the kids before he started the car and spoke, once he was certain they weren’t crushing the “cat” between themselves.

“Okay kiddos, I know we’re going to see JJ, but I’m going to need you four to do some games while were there; JJ works later in the day, since there’s a large crowd in today and he gets very busy… not to mention I don’t want your mom to start asking questions about ’why you didn’t win anything’, okay team?”

The kids nodded happily and Chase settled into driving as he noted how much light and life had returned to Greyson’s eyes as he hugged onto Marvin, who looked only mildly annoyed. By some _miracle_ , the car ride was uneventful, save for the fact Chase was doing his best to not laugh at the large furball’s look of betrayal as he put on a Disney playlist, letting the kids got to town as he drove. As soon as they made it to their destination, Greyson was bouncing up and down, pointing at everything and anything, being the six-year-old that he was. Chase quietly checked his watch and started herding the group towards a food stand, as it was lunchtime.

As the kids ate and Chase Distracted them all, Marvin took his chance to drop off of the table and run into the city, silently thankful that JJ’s shop was only a few blocks away and, after spending a week inside the Brody home, for the fact Greyson liked to play with his food before eating it, which made dinner and breakfast serious affairs that could last for up to an hour and a half. Marvin stalked through the streets as he silently and calmly found the building he was looking for and he slipped in behind some random lady and he ran into the back room, where he knew JJ was sitting, working on paperwork, even though he wouldn’t be paid for it, as he’d explained some time ago to the group (when they could still be called that) that he preferred to work with his hands during his scheduled hours, and paperwork was something to be done afterwards, so he was never distracted.

Marvin rand into the room and saw the youngest ego pouring over the papers, just as he suspected, and he ran onto the table, placing a paw onto the paper as to get the man’s attention, who looked up in annoyance, only for it to melt away into a large smile at the sight of the symbols upon his head.

“Hey JJ.”

Jameson put his pencil down and started signing frantically.

_“Marvin, where have you **been?** I went looking for you and tried to get ahold of everyone I could! Then I get a call from Chase saying he’s bringing **all** the kids later? I thought we agreed to keep them out of our affairs!”_

Marvin sighed heavily as JJ finished and gave him an expectant look.

“I know JJ, but things have changed… Turns out, the kids are more like us than we hoped, and they’re starting to get unwanted attention. I’ve been trailing the kids, keeping them out of as much trouble as I can. They’re going to come and talk to you about Jackie and I hope to god finding him is the extent of their involvement.”

JJ’s eyes widened as panic overtook him, trying and failing to sign for a few moments before managing to get a few words out.

_“How much do they know?”_

“Henrik’s kids know nothing; they just think their dad sent a call for help and you might be able to help. Chase’s girl, Sam, has been acting moody recently, but I have a feeling it’s because her power’s trying to wake up as well… The youngest is our biggest concern right now.”

JJ’s eyebrows knit together as he forced himself to sign slowly.

_“What do you mean?”_

Marvin shuddered before speaking quietly, as if the thing they all feared had a chance at hearing his next words.

“ **He** knows about them… and he very nearly got ahold of Greyson. Chase is using my dreamcatcher to keep him safe, but it’ll only work for so long before they all _really_ wake up and become too much for my limited enchantments… in this state at least.”

JJ was visibly shaking now and was trying his hardest to not let it show, which only resulted in him shaking even more so. Marvin padded closer and placed a paw on the man’s hand, causing them to make eye contact.

“JJ, it’s going to be okay… Henrik knows what he’s doing, and the kids are smart. We just need to be there for them and guide them to the right path. As soon as they find Jackie, we’re sending them home and barring them from _any_ involvement. It’s not what Henrik wants, and _none of us_ are going to let **Him** near them. The kids are just going to come by and ask questions. Everything’s going to be okay, I _promise_.”

It took a few more minutes, but JJ eventually calmed down enough and nodded with a solemn determination as he signed once more, his eyes gleaming brightly.

_“I’ll look around to see if I can find anything… Paperwork can wait.”_

“Thanks JJ… the kids really need this right now, because _apparently,_ Karen decided to ‘move on’ with that tennis instructor guy and they aren’t exactly having it.”

As Marvin turned to leave, he could have sworn he heard a slight chuckle from JJ. Just before he left the room, Marvin turned around and spoke with his “I’m so done with everything” voice.

“I’ll be with the kids next time… please don’t laugh when you see me.”

JJ’s eyes twinkled brightly as he signed half-heartedly.

_“No promises.”_

Marvin found himself slinking back through the city streets and eventually found himself being smothered by a now-crying Greyson, who hadn’t stopped bawling as soon as he noticed Snowball’s absence (which was about five minutes prior).

With cat in hand and food in their bellies, the group stormed the festival and, much to Lukas and Elyse’s surprise, had so much fun they _almost_ forgot about going to see Mr. Jackson. Almost. Chase guided the kids through the crowds and managed to convince Greyson to put Snowball back down as they put all their treasures of the day inside the car before taking the quick drive to where JJ was waiting. As Chase opened the door and held it for the kids as the little bell rang, alerting the man at the counter; a burly man with a thick beard and a strange tattoo across his face that ran down past his shirt. He turned and smiled at the group brightly before speaking in a booming voice.

“Well if it isn’t Chase Brody! It’s been _ages_ since you’ve come in, and you even brought the little ones too! How do you do, kids? Name’s Mr. Montgomery, but everyone just calls me Monty. What can I help you with?”

Chase smiled patiently, placing a hand on Sam’s shoulder after she jumped in surprise and slight fear at the sudden booming voice.

“Sorry to bug you Monty, but we’re actually here to see JJ… is he available right now?”

Monty laughed with his booming voice and nodded as he motioned towards a bright red door, which was ajar slightly.

“Jamie’s in there; he told me he was expecting company today, so go right on ahead! Just close the door and lock it behind ya… you won’t _believe_ how many times I’ve had to lock him in there to keep the crazies off him…”

And with that, Lukas grabbed his sister and ran into the back room, followed quickly by the Brody’s. The back room was filled wall to wall with clocks in various stages of destruction and renovation, with many different cogs, wheels and mechanisms strewn about. In the middle of the room was a man who had an interesting looking mustache (to Greyson anyways), a bright blue vest and a white shirt that had the sleeves rolled up as the man worked, looking through a monical as he did so. At the commotion of the door opening and locking, he looked up to take in the group before him before letting his face settle into a kind smile as he set down his tools and wiped his hands before standing, turning towards them and moving them, signing at a moderate pace.

_“Hello, you must be Henrik’s kids, right?”_

The kids stared at him as, while they knew what sign language was, they had no idea what he’d just said and Sam was staring with wide eyes. Luckily, Chase stepped in and spoke quietly.

“Yeah, Lukas and Elyse and Henrik’s. I’m afraid none of the kids know sign, so I’ll help translate… sorry about that JJ, there wasn’t that much time I’m afraid.”

Jameson signed once more, more quickly this time as he didn’t have to worry about the kids keeping up, as they couldn’t understand at all.

_“I know, Marvin told me.”_

Chase tried to hold back a sigh and muttered “of course he did” under his breath as Jameson continued.

_“I went looking for everything I could find about Jackie… I don’t have much I’m afraid… just some old photos of him with that Band he used to hang out with, and then some birthday gifts he gave me.”_

Chase translated everything to the kids, who’s eyes were shining now as he handed them the small stack of photos he had found and gave an apologetic look as he signed once more.

_“I’m sorry I can’t help more… And I’m sorry about your father; Henrik’s a good man…you two are a lot like him.”_

Elyse smiled as Chase translated. Truthfully, she had thought they’d find _nothing_ , so some old photos were better than nothing at all. She wanted to ask more, to ask what Mr. Jackson’s relation to her father was, and the same to Mr. Brody. She wanted to ask why, the more time they spent with them, the more similar their faces all became and _who was this Jackieboy guy **really** like?_

All of her questions went unanswered as they returned to the car and Chase drove them home to their mother, unlading their bag and telling her they all had fun. While Chase was busy, Sam turned to her brother and motioned for him to get closer as she whispered.

“Greyson… have you noticed anything _weird_ lately? Like… around the house, or about us? Things you can’t explain?”

The young boy turned his head in confusion before a look of terror crossed his little face.

“You saw it too? The dark place with the Demon and Mr. Schneeplestien?”

Sam furrowed her brows and shook her head.

“No… I mean like knowing stuff you’re not supposed to.”

Greyson felt a wave of relief as he sighed heavily.

“Oh… nope. Why?”

Sam looked around nervously, as if she was trying to process the secrets of the universe.

“When we were in the store with Mr. Jameson… I knew what he was saying… but I’ve never learned Sign Language! And… and even though I can’t prove it, I can’t help but have this feeling that Snowball disappeared this morning to go see Mr. Jameson.”

Greyson looked even more confused than before.

“How do you know?”

Sam looked so confused and distressed as she responded quietly, noticing their father was now returning.

“I don’t know… I just _know_.”

As the small family returned to their home, Marvin was internally curing at himself as he wanted impatiently for the kids to go to sleep. He was so _stupid_ for not seeing it sooner! Sam… she was just like him. And sooner or later, that was going to land her in some seriously hot water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't be too scared to leave a comment! they're always welcome! :D


	6. The Next Phase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Schneeplestien centric chapter!

With the photos Mr. Jackson had given them, it took Lukas and Elyse nearly three weeks to find some thing they could investigate and, as if the universe was laughing at them, they found it quite by accident: Lukas was walking through the hallways of their school when he found himself being pulled to the side by one of his classmates.

“Hey Luke, check this out!”

The classmate shoved a piece of paper into his hands and Lukas, despite the fact he _hated_ that nickname, he did as he was told and looked at the paper. It was crumpled and kinda worn, but it was still readable: It was a flyer for a big band event two cities over and the dates were about three weeks away. It listed a bunch of no-name groups that were using this as a way to elevate themselves and get publicity (which Lukas assumed was the whole point), but there were big, bold letters that advertised a specific band; The Cool Patrol. It even had a cheesey group shot of them edited next to their name. The kid who handed it to him was grinning like the Cheshire Cat as he spoke one more.

“Sick, right? My brother says they have this super awesome hangout for only the _coolest_ people, and the ninja guy throws anyone who isn’t cool enough out right into the dumpster! They almost _never_ play this close to us and _everyone_ is going to be there! My bro said they even have this Superhero looking dude play drums from time to time, if you’re really lucky.”

_Superhero dude._

Alarm bells were going off in Lukas’ head and he had a feeling they might have another clue, but he had to be sure, while not sounding like a total nutjob.

“Really? A Superhero? What are you, five?”

Just as Lukas hoped, the kid took the jab hook, line and sinker.

“I’m serious dude! See, my bro took a selfie the last time he showed up!”

And, quicker than Lukas could say his own name, the boy was shoving a phone in his face. It took him a moment to recover from the slight shock, but once her did, Lukas couldn’t help the smile that found itself onto his face. Despite the mask and obvious age difference, Lukas knew _instantly_ that he was looking at Jackieboy. Even the lead singer looked like he did in the photos Mr. Jackson had shown and given to them. Now that he confirmed his suspicions, Lukas now had to get as much information as he could… even if Jackieboy _wasn’t_ there, the band might know how to get ahold of him.

“How much is it to get in?”

The kid laughed and punched Lukas’ shoulder, which was confusing but whatever.

“It’s 100% free, but they sell VIP, backstage passes on site. First come first serve type deal. You hoping to see the Patrol?”

_Ah shit… time to cover my ass._

“Uh… yeah. Elyse is pretty into them, cause our Dad thought they were pretty neat.”

In an instant, the other kid looked nervous and nodded uncomfortably before shoving the paper into Lukas’ hands once more.

“Uh… here, you keep this. I’ll find another. Good luck with the passes and all that.”

And just like that, the boy ran off quickly, like everyone did whenever they mentioned their father, like it was some kind of bad curse (not that Lukas minded… it helped get rid of unwanted attention on multiple occasions.) Lukas shook his head as if to clear it and ran to where his sister was waiting, still smiling like a madman, which was quite startling to her as he ran up slightly breathless.

“Found… something! Jackie is… in a band…”

And with that, he held out his new piece of evidence for his sister to examine. The girl looked to her brother smiling and looked around to make sure no one was watching or listening to them as she leaned closer to her brother, whispering as quietly as she could.

“You know… Rick’s been _dying_ to “get to know us” … he’s getting pretty desperate.”

Lukas couldn’t help but laugh as they took off towards their home where, unsurprisingly, the tennis instructor was lounging around in the place their father should be. The two approached him together, which clearly startled the man as he stared at them with extreme confusion. Lukas took a deep breath, as if speaking to the man was hard for him.

“Um… Mr. Rick, can we ask you something?”

The man straightened into an upright position and folded his hands over his knee calmly, nodding for Lukas to continue.

“In a couple weeks, there’s this big musical event happening two cities over. Normally we wouldn’t bother, but there’s this band Ely and I _really_ like and they have first-come first-serve VIP passes to see the band. Normally, dad would take us to see them but…”

Lukas allowed himself to trail off, as if it was too painful to continue, which was where Elyse picked it up.

“But he wouldn’t want us to live in misery and he’d tell us to do what we love, no matter what! So… Lukas and I were wondering if you could… if you would be willing to take us? Mom could have some time to herself and we could get to know each other a bit more. But you don’t have to if you don’t want to! We get it if stepping into the hole our father left behind is too much for you, even if it is to see a silly band…”

The twins could see the almost palpable panic as Rick scrambled for an answer.

“No, no it’s okay! I’m just a little surprised, that’s all! Of course, I’d love to take you two! Your mom will be so happy about this! We’ll make a week of it!”

The twins knew he was trying to sound excited, but there was too much panic intertwined for it to be convincing… not that it mattered to them. They thanked the man and retreated to their room as he started running to their mother, who had just arrived home with groceries. As quietly as they could, Lukas grabbed his phone and rung up the Brody household.

It was answered on the second ring.

_“Hello, Chase Brody speaking.”_

“Mr. Brody! It’s Lukas! Elyse is here too, but that’s not important right now.”

_“And what **is** important bud?”_

Lukas couldn’t help the excitement that was bubbling up.

“We found that band Jackie used to hang out with! The one in the pictures Mr. Jackson gave us! They’re going to be playing two cities over in a few weeks, and we just convinced Rick to take us and get backstage passes! If none of your group knows where he is, then they might! Or they’ll know how to get ahold of him!”

There was a moment of silence on the line before Chase spoke once more, trying to sound upbeat.

_“That’s great kiddo… I’d love to be with you two… but I’ve got boring adult stuff to do that day.”_

Lukas and Elyse couldn’t hide the disappointment in their voices.

“Oh.”

_“I’m sorry kiddos… I wish I could be there for you two, but this is serious stuff… if I don’t do any of what I’m supposed to, then Stacy will take Sammy and Greyson again and… and as much as I love you kids and Henrik… I **can’t** lose them… not again...”_

Elyse spoke first, as kindly as she could.

“It’s okay Mr. Brody, we understand! Give her hell from us!”

That earned a light laugh from the other end and the call ended shortly afterwards. The two siblings looked at each other and nodded in a silent understanding as they prepared for bed. If Mr. Brody couldn’t be there for them, then they had to prepare and do everything in their power to find the man their father had asked for… if nothing else, for the sake of knowing they _tried_ and got as far as they could into the next phase of their plans. With that in mind, the two found themselves drifting off, one to a peaceful rest and the other…. Not so much.

_Elyse opened her eyes to see an inky void, though she had no recollection of ever being there in the first place. As she looked around, she couldn’t help but feel something was… **off** about her surroundings. The longer she looked, the more she felt as if her head would split open with when felt like the weight of thousands of sledgehammers, all of them giving her a sense of dread, hopelessness and insanity. It hurt so much, she almost didn’t notice the blackness moving and shifting into figures and places she recognized._

_At first, it was her family, happy and together… they were playing with Sam and Greyson… he looked so little, it as almost adorable. Then, it shifted to show Mr. Brody, sobbing silently over a glass as he hung his head into his hands, while Elyse could feel nothing but an empty void emanating from him… as if he’d lost **everything** and nothing would ever fix it… _

_Off to the side, Elyse could see Ms. Stacy dragging her two friends away from their father; Stay was smug and pleased with herself, while the two children were being torn apart inside…_ **especially** _Greyson, who’s inner turmoil seemed to move the surrounding void as he seemed to cry out and reach backwards towards the sobbing adult. Elyse wanted to move, to go and help... to comfort or do **something!** But the void around her wouldn’t let her… she could only stand and watch helplessly. And that’s when she heard it; a voice that she immediately _knew _belonged to some… **thing** dangerous._

**“It’s not fair, is it little one?”**

_Elyse turned towards the voice, and she saw what appeared to be a man, though every ounce of her being was telling her he was anything but._

**“Don’t be scared; the void tends to play with new inhabitants, even if they are temporary.”**

_Elyse didn’t know what to do... she didn’t even know who this…_ thing _was! But it… he (?) continued casually._

**“It’s not fair, is it? That a heartless woman like Stacy got to keep Chase’s kids, just because she’s their mother. They wanted to stay with their father, you know. Little Greyson _especially_ wanted to stay with his daddy dearest.”**

_Elyse’s mouth moved before she could stop herself._

_“Who are you? What do you want from me?”_

_The demon, for that is what Elyse was **certain** it was, laughed as he threw his head back, a look of terrifying glee shimmering in his eyes._

**“Oh, little one… if you only knew what you’re capable of. I will admit, the magician did a decent job in helping the Doc hide you two for so long… but I doubt any of us could have anticipated how… _Powerful_ you would be. It’s not every day I meet someone who’s power could rival my own… and to think you’ve only scratched the surface!”**

_Elyse was confused and scared… there was too much going on around her! Too many emotions, and the Demon had an aura of insanity about him that made her want to scream for help, if it weren’t for the fact she was completely and utterly alone._

**“So, to answer those questions of yours… You simply need to know me as the Puppet Master… and you, little Elyse, are so close to finding me a new puppet to play with. All I want from you right now, is for you to keep going; find the little hero for me, will you?”**

_Elyse saw Red. And the demon_ laughed.

**“Oh, someone’s mad! What’s the matter little one? Upset?”**

_“What makes you think I’ll help you!?”_

_The demon smiled wickedly as a knife seemed to appear out of thin air._

**“You want to find daddy dearest, _don’t you?_ Keep going; find the hero... He’s never backed down when one of the others was in danger. He’ll let me find him nice and easy after that… and then who knows; you might see your father again after that.”**

_Elyse put on her brave face and somehow manage to move so that she was standing at her full height (not very intimidating, but it was better than cowering.)_

_“I won’t do it. Not when I know you’re using us!”_

_Again, the demon laughed as he walked forwards and grabbed the girl, who cried out in pain as thin, almost invisible, red lines dug into her and her eyes widened in fear._

**“Who said I’d let you remember, little puppet?”**

_The void was getting darker now and her whole body felt like it was simultaneously on fire and falling asleep. She couldn’t breathe, think or do anything but feel the pain. As everything began to fade, Elyse barely heard another voice shrieking from somewhere in the void._

“You fucking bastard! Let her go and I’ll give you what you want! _Please!”_

_There was more laughter._

**“You’re too late for that Doc… This is only temporary… for now. I’m looking forwards to seeing you in person, little puppet… do be good for me, will you? I can't _wait_ for the next phase of our little game!”**

_Elyse fell back into the blissful silence and cold darkness, grateful to be away from the place that was already slipping out of her memories_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops.


	7. Airing Dirty Laundry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Greyson has some things to get off his chest.

Greyson was undoubtedly, completely bored out of his mind. He wanted nothing more than to be at home, helping Lukas and Elyse prepare for the music concert. He wanted to be watching movies with his dad, sister and Snowball… but he was here, in a stuffy courtroom, waiting for the judge person to finish going through legal stuff. Dad told Sammy and him that they wanted to talk to them and ask some questions. Greyson wanted to not care… but he didn’t want to leave with _her_ again. _She_ ignored them and only wanted the money Dad had to pay that was _supposed_ to be for Sammy and him and used it on her drinks… Greyson was six, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew he had to be here if it meant returning home… his _actual_ home, with his family and where Snowball would be waiting.

The door next to him opened and some official looking lady was saying something about them wanting to talk to them. Greyson followed numbly, each step he took letting a feeling of burning determination grow through his entire body. He was going to do everything he could to stay with his Dad… he wouldn’t be able to take it if they wouldn’t let them stay… not when he knew the dark place could return to his mind at any time it wanted… he just _knew_ it would.

Greyson hated this. He hated all the eyes on him… looking at him with so much _pity…_ it was **_radiating off of them_**. No one else seemed to notice as he trailed behind the lady. Greyson looked at his dad nervously, who could only give a comforting smile and thumbs up… and it hurt Greyson, because he could feel the despair and panic bubbling beneath the calm façade.  Greyson knew his dad was holding on by a thread… that he was holding on because he _cared_ about him and Sammy… but his mother was just cold and uncaring. With all these emotions in one room… no… in one _building_ … it was suffocating to Greyson. The judge person was looking at him, and they were talking now.

“Hello sweetie. Greyson, right?”

Greyson nodded quietly before giving a soft affirmation.

“Do you like living with your Dad and Sister?”

Greyson knew it was time to put on his brave face as he put on a big smile which was, surprisingly, very real. As he spoke up, wanting to make sure his mother heard the happiness in his voice.

“Yes ma’am! Sammy and I get our own rooms and toys and Dad is super duper awesome! We got to school and see our friends and do our homework and I got a racecar bed!”

The air of pity lessened a bit at Greyson’s words, and he couldn’t be more relieved. The Judge lady laughed a little and nodded in acknowledgement.

“Do you want to tell us what living with your mommy was like?”

Greyson should have known that was coming… but at least he had their attention. After what happened, the adults _had_ to listen to him now… so he might as well air out some dirty laundry, right? Greyson began to frown slightly, as if he wanted to talk about it as if he was kind of scared to do so.

“I don’t like it. Mommy drinks a lot… and it’s not water. It smells bad and she gets angry and sleepy after having a couple glasses of it. Sammy and I share a room at her place and we don’t see our friends. She doesn’t like them, cause our dads were _really_ good friends. Sammy and I don’t have toys there, so we read, but we can only read books from the library and _only_ if we walk there to get them.”

The people started shifting uncomfortably. Greyson knew his mother’s “drinks” were alcoholic… but the court didn’t need to know that. He was six after all, and why would someone his age know or understand as much as he did? The Judge’s eyes went dark, but she tried to hide it from him.

“Did your mommy drink a lot with you two around?”

Greyson nodded, knowing he sounded perfectly innocent and ignorant in all of this as he continued.

“She used the money Dad sends over to get them! Sammy had to mow lawns to get money when she needed cloths, and we had to go together or Mommy would take the money for them. If I needed cloths, Sammy would give me her old stuff if it fit, or else she’d work harder. Mommy didn’t want us to tell Dad and if she knew we told him, she’d get _really, really mad…_ she’s really scary when she’s mad.”

“And she had a lot of drinks the last time you saw her, didn’t she?”

Greyson nodded again.

“She didn’t wait for us to get our seat-belts on and I was _really_ scared, cause Dad **_always_** makes sure we have them on! Sammy helped me get mine on and put hers on, cause she’s bigger than me. Mommy was driving _really_ bad… like, I saw a sign that said 25 and she must have been going triple that! Then we hit something and everything was spinning and I don’t remember what happened after that, but I woke up in the hospital with Dad beside me.”

The room was filling with tension again as Stacey realized how badly she messed up. Kids were like sponges, and Greyson had absorbed _all_ of her actions and was putting them out for all to see. It was looking pretty bad.

“That must have been pretty scary huh?”

Greyson nodded again, a sense of sick satisfaction settling in his stomach as he continued speaking, silently thankful they decided to hold off talking to him last.

“Yeah, I had a _lot_ of bruises… like, **_a lot,_** _a lot_. But the doctors were nice and said nothing else was wrong, cause Sammy and I wore our seat-belts like Dad taught us! And the police people came by and told us Mommy was gonna stay with them for a bit and we got to stay with Dad weekends _and_ weekdays! I _really, really, **really**_ like staying with Dad… can we stay with him forever? _Please_ ma’am…I wanna stay with Dad and Sammy and go home to see Snowball.”

Greyson could hear the intake of breath throughout the room as he finished his bit, emphasizing on the innocent aspect of it all. After all, they didn’t listen to him last time… so he was going to _make them_ listen this time.

“Snowball?”

Greyson smiled proudly.

“He’s our cat! He kept following me home, so we took him and now he’s my bestest friend, right behind Sammy, Lukas and Elyse!”

The Judge Lady turned to face Chase, who looked like he was on the verge of tears.

“You’ve done a good job with these two Mr. Brody… may I ask about Snowball’s health?”

Chase nodded and spoke after a curt nod from his lawyer.

“Snowball is… an interesting cat to the say the least Your Honor. I have a friend watching him right now, and I already took him to get his shots and de-worming medicine while the kids were at school. Greyson loves him to death… and I do try my best ma’am. I love my kids more than anything.”

The Judge nodded and turned back to Greyson, the kind (but slightly less fake) smile back on her face.

“Thank you for talking to us sweetie. You’re very brave for telling us all this.”

Greyson decided to press his luck as he tilted his head and scrunched his face into a look of confusion.

“All what Ma’am?”

The court laughed and Greyson found himself being moved out of the room again, and he ran to find Sam. He didn’t want to be there anymore and she felt like Home.


	8. Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lukas And Elyse's search is coming to a close... but something else is only just beginning.

Lukas didn’t want to be in the car anymore. He half considered abandoning their lead on Jackieboy, if only to _get away from Rick’s music oh my god._ The man was playing music he _thought_ was “hip with the kids” … but it so, so was _not._ It was just white noise at this point, so Lukas all but launched himself out of the car once they reached their destination. Lukas didn’t hesitate to grab his sister and run towards where the VIP passes were being sold, Rick calling after them futilely. Rick _did_ catch up to them, but only because he had Adult legs and they weren’t that hard to spot. Within seconds, the reached the counter and the receptionist person smiled.

“Let me guess; Two VIP’s for Cool Patrol?”

Lukas and Elyse _grinned_ and nodded enthusiastically while the person laughed and Rick made the transaction. Before they left, the person leaned over to speak quietly, so that only the two would hear them.

“You know, I saw them setting up earlier… there was an extra member. Looks like you kids are in for a _super_ treat.”

The emphasis on “super” made them giddy. It was finally, almost over. They just had to stall for a few more hours, which was surprisingly easy. Despite how anxious they felt, Lukas and Elyse found themselves enjoying the music that was constantly playing and they enjoyed talking to the kids who had been going to this for _ages_ and learning all the tricks of the trade the others had gained over the years. After all, maybe they could come back again, and see this with their Dad. He’d make fun of some of the talent sure… but never in a condescending way… not _their_ dad.

Rick seemed annoyed, but he was trying to hide it. It was weird, but they tried to ignore him for the most part. They had a _mission_ and they were _not_ going to fail. When The Cool Patrol took the stage, the park rioted with joy and the siblings _finally_ saw him. He was playing the drums as hard and as loud as he could, giving the crowd a butload of energy… he was in a Red Hoodie like thing, padded for what the kids assumed was protection, dark green hair and a bright blue mask on his face; they had their eyes on Jackieboy. The band itself, The Cool Patrol, had some _killer_ songs, even if they were a bit explicit at times (not that the siblings minded, though slightly grateful Greyson wasn’t with them at that point…) but it was finally time for the VIP meetings.

Lukas and Elyse ran as fast as they could to get to the meeting spot, considering Rick was still with them, but they already were forming a plan. As the security guys would collect people to go back, Lukas and Elyse made sure to be in the back, so that they were _guaranteed_ to be last, the perfect opportunity to spring their trap. It was _agonizing_ to wait, but they somehow managed… and somehow, _miraculously_ , Rick decided he had to use the restroom. Normally, that would mean forfeiting their spot in line, but since they were the last ones, Security promised to stay with the two as Rick went off to answer the call of nature and even escort them to see him once they were all done.

They met the band and, to their utter delight, Jackieboy was still with them, looking anxious and tired. Lukas and Elyse were actually kind of invested in the small conversation they were having and that’s when the singer posed the opening they were waiting for.

“So, how’d you two hear about us anyways?”

Elyse, always a great actress, stepped up and smiled brightly.

“Our dad talked about you guys! He even showed us some pictures he had of you guys way back when! We even brought some of them to show, just in case!”

And so, Lukas pulled out their secret ammunition; the photos Mr. Jackson had given them, as well as the group photos of the whole friend group. The band laughed at the styles of the photos and smiled widely, though Jackie seemed to go quiet as he looked at the siblings.

“Oh, you’re Hen’s kids! I thought you looked familiar! Jackie, you were really close with your whole group, right?”

Jackieboy looked like a deer caught in headlights as the attention focused onto him.

“Uh… yeah, we were. Guess we all got busy with our lives… haven’t talked to him in a while.”

Lukas wanted to press more, to _talk_ to him… but the security guys were coming back and they had to say goodbye. Before they left, the Ninja guy stopped them and handed them a piece of paper.

“That’s Jackie’s Number… he’s been feeling down lately, so maybe you could give that to your dad for him? Talking to old friends would do wonders for him.”

The kids grinned and nodded, thanking him profusely. They followed the security as far as they could, but… but Rick was nowhere to be seen. They waited for 10 minutes… and then 20… and then half an hour passed and the security people called it in.

“Stay here you two; we’ll go looking for him.”

And with that, the two Schneeplestien children were alone… and that’s when they saw it; a familiar large white cat, sulking into an alleyway, followed closely by a familiar clockmaker. The twins looked at each other, nodded silently and started to follow. At first, it seemed like the man was aimlessly following a wandering cat, and the two were about to call it quits after following for another half hour when they heard something… _rasping_ behind them. They turned in utter fear as they found themselves facing Rick… but he didn’t look like himself. He looked… hollow and dead. His eyes were dark and his mouth hung ajar as he rasped again.

_“Pu…p…p…e..t….s”_

In an instant, Elyse was hit with some unseen pain and the events of her night in that void came back to her and she _knew_ this was the work of the Demon.

Elyse **_Screamed._**

It seemed to startle whatever… whatever that _thing_ in front of them was long enough for Lukas to gain enough common sense to grab his sister and start _running_. He didn’t know where they were going, but he knew they had to _go away from there._ Rick wasn’t himself and Lukas had never seen his sister so terrified. He didn’t even realize he spoke until the words left his mouth.

“We have to get help!”

Elyse looked like she was stabbed in the gut.

“N-No! It’s a trap! We have to get away! J-Jackieboy _can’t_ be here! It’s what **He** wanted!”

“You’re making no sense!”

“I _know!”_

They we running as fast as they could and then, as if fate was trying to have them murdered, they reached a dead end; no way to climb out and no way to barrel past him. The rasping was getting closer and Lukas hugged his sister closer, wanting to take away the pain she seemed to be feeling… and as he clung to her, his whole body began to ache with pain he did not previously have. Rick’s rasping was closer than ever and it became a hollow mimic of a laugh as the entity, for that couldn’t be Rick anymore, had found them.

And that’s when things got _weird._

There was a yowl of an angry cat and a flash of White as Snowball seemed to materialize and barrel towards the man, claws extended. Not even a moment later, Lukas could see a blur of red and Rick went flying backwards. Jackieboy looked _pissed_ as he took a defensive stance.

“Marv, take JJ and the kids. Get them out of here.”

The two couldn’t be more confused as Mr. Jackson ran over, signing wildly (which neither of them understood) and Snowball ran over, launching himself into Elyse’s arms… and then he spoke.

“Hold onto one another. Do _not_ let go! We’ll see you at my place Jackie, do _not_ be late or skip out!”

And then… it felt like the ground was moving beneath them… like how one might feel the pull of the ocean if they stood with their feet in the ocean on a beach. Letting the tide sway them. When they blinked, the alleyway was gone; they were in a dimly lit room wall to wall with books and… _things_. Snowball was flicking his tail furiously and, before the two could convince themselves they’d been hearing things, he spoke _again._

“What were you two _thinking?!_ You had no business following us right into danger! I’ve spent the last month and a half keeping you two out of trouble and out of unwanted eyes and **_this_** is what you do the _moment_ you’re on your own?!”

Mr. Jackson was trembling, but signed quickly at Snowball, which seemed to annoy but also calm him down.

“I know… If he got Rick, it wouldn’t matter anyways. They’d be in danger either way… and at least we were there to mitigate some damage.”

The two kids couldn’t process this. Lukas was the first to speak.

“Ely… Ely, I think someone put something in those smoke machines… Snowball’s talking.”

Snowball seemed to get irate at this, while Mr. Jackson was trying not to laugh.

“Listen kid, there’s a lot to explain and not a lot of time. We’ll be safe here, but you’re going to go home eventually. However, first thing’s first; My name is **_not_** Snowball. I’m Marvin. Marvin the Magnificent. Secondly, JJ, I need you to call Chase and let him know what happened. Jackie should be here soon. We’ll sort everything then.”

Elyse stared with wide eyes and sputtered to say something.

“No! He can’t be here! He has to leave _now!”_

Lukas looked offended.

“What are you talking about!?! We’ve come too far to just push him away! What’s your problem?!”

Elyse looked panic as she whispered.

“It was a trap… The… The _**Demon** _knew we were looking for him… he’s using us to find him. We can’t let him…. We _can’t.”_

Marvin’s eyes darkened and he moved closer to the terrified girl.

“Elyse, look at me.”

She did as she was told.

“Did that thing give you a name to call him by?”

She nodded quietly, speaking at barely a whisper.

“He said to call him “puppet master”… he scares me.”

A new voice piped up and the whole room turned towards the door.

“I can take him. I’ve done it before.”

Jackieboy was standing tall, a look of anger and determination etched onto his face.

“No one messes with my friend’s kids and gets away with it… but first, I think you two need to explain everything, from the absolute start.”

And so, they did.


	9. Jackieboy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our favorite Hero is not happy with his friends.

Jackie was _pissed_. When he arrived at the festival, at his friends’ instance _might he add_ , there was a tense feeling lingering in the air… it didn’t feel malicious or anything, but it was _definitely_ there. The tension felt… subdued. Suppressed… _Hidden_ even… it felt vaguely like Marvin’s work, but only _barely._ Jackie couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched through the entire show, even though he knew no one would be looking for him specifically… at least, not the way he was thinking. So there was nothing to worry about… right?

But of course, he _had_ to be wrong, didn’t he? Somewhere in the crowd, Jackie could feel two sets of eyes looking at him with such intensity that it felt like they could see into his core and he couldn’t shake the growing pit in his stomach, though he tried his best to ignore it. And then, when it looked like there might have been a false alarm, he saw _them_.

It might have been a few years since he’d last visited, but Jackie could recognize Henrik’s kids _anywhere_. They talked innocently, but Jackie just _knew_ they were there to find him, though for what reason he had no clue... after all, Henrik had _insisted_ on keeping them away from their affairs and letting the two lead a normal life, as well as the precautions they’d all taken to ensure their identities would be hidden to the outside world. And yet, there were right in front of him, actively seeking him out!

And then they just _had_ to follow Marvin, who was _apparently_ a cat, and JJ into a **_dangerous_** city, completely unsupervised and unaware of their surroundings, because _of course they did!_ It was a good thing he decided to patrol before leaving, or they’d be toast… _especially_ when **His** Influence was all over that guy… Rick did they say? It didn’t matter. What mattered was making sure the kids were safe at Marv’s and learning the whole story.

And boy was he _pissed_.

Firstly, it was fucking **_moronic_** to let these kids do all the heavy lifting and searching! They had to scrounge around for a _shred_ of evidence that all the other Adults had _readily available!_ Chase and Marvin knew _damn well_ asking so many questions would raise some alarms! And furthermore, they had to find out about this from a _pirated flyer!_

Secondly, Chase knew _all of this._ He hadn’t even **_tried_** calling his cellphone! Like, sure, Jackie probably wouldn’t have picked up, but he’d at least know something was up! But **_no;_** _Marvin_ had to be the one to tell him the kids were attracting attention and Chase hadn’t done a damn thing!

He was going to _throttle_ that man. How _dare_ he keep these kids in the dark! Like, sure, Henrik wanted them to be safe… but that changed the _second_ he disappeared on them and those kids were open to all kinds of threats they had no control over or any knowledge of. And what was that man _thinking_ when the two in front of him told him Chase’s own kids were getting involved! He had a fucking _six-year-old_ for god’s sake! And to top it all off, **He** already knew about the kids... Elyse had been tricked and used for god’s sake!

Jackie knew he needed to focus and tried his best to keep his shoulders from sagging downwards as he rubbed his temples, mulling over their options before looking to the group before him and started speaking.

“Okay, here’s how this is going to go; Marvin, you need to re-enforce your security here. Get some dreamcatchers for the kids and add some extra enchantments to be safe. JJ, help him out however you can and keep an eye on the kids. Lukas, Elyse… I need to borrow your phone and make some calls.”

The cat and clockmaker moved instantly to their assign tasks as Lukas warily handed over his phone while Elyse clung to his side like her life depended on it. Jackie couldn’t help the pang of guilt at the sight… she probably thought her life _did_ depend on it. He couldn’t imagine how insane this was all sounding to them, or what they were even _thinking_ at that point. Jackie scrolled through the contacts and found the person he was looking for. Taking a deep breath to aliviate some of the anger he was feeling, Jackie dialed the number and put the call on speaker. There was only one ring before the line was picked up.

_“Hello, Chase Brody speaking!”_

“Hey Chase… it’s me.”

There was moment of silence and then the sound of movement before Mr. Body spoke again.

_“Where’s Lukas and Elyse?”_

“They’re with me right now… we’re at Marvin’s with JJ and Marv.”

_“Kids?”_

Lukas sighed and spoke up, his voice kind of shaky from everything that had happened.

“We’re here Mr. Brody…”

_“What happened? Jackie, you explain what the hell is going on or so help me, there **will** be consequences.”_

Jackie had removed his mask and was rolling his eyes in annoyance.

“Don’t act all high and mighty on _me_ Chase! _I_ was hanging with the band and _they_ found _me_. JJ and Marv were in town and the kids saw them, so they followed and that Rick guy they were with got caught in **His** influence, so I had to go and save them.”

There was another beat of silence before Chase spoke once more, his voice wavering slightly.

_“So… they know?”_

“Yes, they know. For fuck’s sake Chase, what the _hell_ were you thinking?! You should have gotten them somewhere safe the _second_ they started digging! Or the moment you and Marv found out his magic was wearing off and their abilities were starting to manifest!”

Chase’s voice snapped with annoyance and suppressed anger as he spoke once more.

_“Well I’m sorry for wanting the kids to do their searching where I could keep an eye on them! **I’ve** known those two since they were born! I **know** they would have gone searching with or without me! **Some of us** have **family** to take care of Jackie! And I very well couldn’t take them away from their mother, could I?! This was the safest option I had, since **you** couldn’t be bothered to check in for three **fucking years!”**_

“Family? Are you _serious_ Chase?! You and Henrik abandoned your family to start new ones! How’s _that_ for “Family”?! _We_ were your family! **_I_** was your family and _you_ left _us_! We look after one another and _you **left!”**_

**“That’s _enough!”_**

There was a _thunk_ coming from Chase’s end of the line, which was followed by the sound of movement (leading Lukas to assume Mr. Brody had dropped his phone in surprise) as Elyse yelled at the two, tears threatening to spill.

_“Elyse…?”_

“Look, I get it okay? You’re both scared of… of **Him** and you keep blaming yourselves for all the shit that’s happened in the past, but _grow **up!**_ Lukas and I aren’t kids anymore and the fact we had to… that **_I_** had to find out from that… that _demon_ is _not_ okay! Stop arguing like an old married couple and work things out like _fucking adults!_ Do I _really_ need to remind you of the fact _our father’s **life**_ is still on the line here?! _”_

Chase’s voice was full of tense sadness as he tried to speak.

_“Elyse… I know you’re upset, but you need to calm down. We’re going to work this out… all of us. Together.”_

“How? Everyone keeps talking about “abilities” and what not, but no one’s explaining _what_ abilities, or how it will help us save Dad!”

Chase sighed heavily before speaking once more.

_“I know kiddo… I’m coming over with Greyson and Sammy… it’s time we told you kids the truth about everything… Just… don’t go off without us, okay?”_

The two siblings knew they would be getting nowhere with this if they continued so they agreed dejectedly before Chase spoke once more.

_“That means you too Jackie. Don’t go after **him** before we get there. Please… we just need to work together on this.”_

Jackie looked like he wanted to argue, but one look from Elyse got him to sigh and agree before hanging up and handing the phone back to Lukas.

_“I need you to promise me Jackie… please. Just promise me this.”_

“I promise Chase… before you get here, make sure to bring everything Greyson might need… Marvin told me everything.”

_“Of course he did… I’ll see you guys soon.”_


	10. At Marvin's

      Greyson was 95% certain he was hallucinating from exhaustion. It was an utter relief the judge and jury decided instantaneously that he and Sammy could stay with their dad, and forever now, and Greyson was so excited to go home to Snowball and tell Lukas and Elyse… and then Dad had gotten a phone call. He stepped outside to where Greyson and Sammy couldn’t hear it, but he looked pretty upset and kinda scared. And then he’s gotten back into the car and looked _really_ serious as he spoke tensely.

      “Okay, there’s a bit of a plan change kiddos… we’re going to go stay with a friend of mine after we get some stuff from the house.”

      Greyson was happy Sammy wasn’t nearly as tired as he was as she spoke hesitantly.

      “Is everything okay dad? What was that call about?”

      Their father was noticeably tense as he started the engine and began driving out of the parking lot. He glanced around nervously, as if he expected a boogie-man to jump out and attack them at any moment. He didn’t answer her for a few minutes before sighing heavily.

      “Sammy, please… I’ll explain everything when we make it to my friend’s place. I just need you two to trust me right now.”

      Greyson didn’t find that very reassuring as Sam placed a hand on his shoulder protectively. The longer they drove, the more scared Greyson was becoming. His father was just oozing with unease, fear and anger. He _knew_ something was off about that call… and something in the back of his mind told him it had to do with Lukas and Elyse. Soon enough, the family was back in front of their house, though something felt… _off_ to Greyson. It was dark, cold… threatening, even… to Greyson, it felt like the dark prison of his dreams. As Chase turned the engine off, Greyson felt a surge of fear as a reached out towards the man.

      “Dad, no… this feels wrong. It feels like the bad place… can’t we just go to your friend’s place? Please?”

      Chase wasn’t sure what it was… but there was an edge to his son’s voice that made him pause, all the anger towards Jackie vanishing in an instant as cold fear crawled up his back. Chase forced himself to take a deep breath and focus on the house in front of them. True to form, it was festering and bubbling with **His** influence and power. Without another word, Chase started the car again and pulled out of the driveway quickly. They drove in stiff silence for what felt like an eternity before Chase seemed to find what they were looking for; a run-down looking building with a few “keep out” signs as a chain-link fence. Sam helped her brother exit the car quickly, each grabbing their father’s hands as they walked to the fence and Chase walked them forwards… further… and further… until they were _passing through the fence._

      If Greyson was unsure about hallucinating before, he certainly thought he was fever-dreaming now as the dead shrubbery and run-down building morphed into an extravagant looking house with a lush and vibrant garden. As the small group approached, the porchlight flickered on and sitting in the doorway, rather expectantly, was Snowball. His tail was swishing back and forth angrily as he stood on all four legs, moving to reenter the home. Greyson watched as the door swung shut behind them once they followed suit, and his father’s grip seemed to tighten as they wordlessly followed the cat deeper into the building, eventually entering a dimly lit room that was lined with books and various other things Greyson couldn’t see properly… and in the middle of the room was his two friends, Mr. Jackson and someone he could only assume to be Jackieboy, which made the boy smile widely, despite his exhausted state.

      “You found him… that’s nice…”

      Jackie looked at the little boy with slight amusement before steeling himself and motioning them all to enter the room completely. Chairs and a table seemed to appear out of nowhere, which Greyson was ready to accept in his exhausted and drained state, but Sam looked at them in shock and confusion, as did the Schneeplestien children, though the adults seemed unphased.

      “Wha…. How…?”

      At the small voice of Sam, their father sighed and gently brought the two siblings ti the table, his shoulders slumped and face full of wary sorrow.

      “Kids, please… we’ll explain everything I promise… just trust me, okay?”

      Greyson nodded quietly, sitting down obediently as Sam moved her chair closer to him before sitting as well. Lukas and Elyse soon followed and the children were sitting across from the two adults and Snowball, looking hollow and scared. Mr. Jackson looked nervous, while Greyson could practically _see_ the tension bouncing between his father and Jackieboy. There were a few moments of tense silence before, much to both Greyson and Sam’s surprise, Snowball seemed to sigh and _spoke_.

      “Listen, there’s no reason to be beating around the bush on any of this now… Kids, your dads and us… we aren’t exactly _normal…_ And before you freak out, my name is **_NOT_** Snowball!”

      Greyson was too shocked to speak, now wide awake at the fact his cat was talking to them and no one aside from Sam seemed phased by said development. Lukas seemed frustrated as he spoke, gripping his chair with one hand and his sister with his other.

      “What exactly does that mean? What’s going on?! What’s this “demon” you guys mentioned?? Why is it after us?? **_Where’s our dad?!”_**

      The adults flinched as Lukas finished talking, his voice raised to a near-shout and Greyson’s own eyes widened in fear at the mention of a demon… it couldn’t be the same demon from his nightmares, right…? Greyson watched in silence as Jackieboy raised his hand to draw attention to himself, and spoke calmly, even if there was some kind of pain hidden behind his eyes and in his tensed shoulders.

      “What Marvin means is that we, your fathers included, aren’t… entirely human. The exact name for our kind was lost to the ages… but we have a unanimous agreement to refer to ourselves and those like us as “Egos”. Our particular group are known as the “Spetics”… The group includes me, JJ, Marvin, Chase, Your father, Henrik… and **him** , unfortunately… It’s a safe assumption **He** is after you kiddos cause… well… you’re like us.”

      Greyson tilted his head in confusion, unsure if he’d heard that properly.

      “What do you mean we’re “like you”? Like… like how I go to the dark place when I sleep?”

      Jackie nodded in acknowledgement as he leaned forwards, folding his hands together as he did so.

      “Exactly like that Greyson. You see… us Egos have our own abilities... powers, if you will… things to help us fill out the roles we play. I’m stronger, faster, and tougher than the average human… I can sense danger, in a way… things to help me be the hero I was made to be. Marvin is a magician, so he knows, studies and thrives off of the arcane. JJ… well, JJ has a little bit of magic in him too, but his strongest suit is related to time… he can slow it, stop it for a portion, and even travel through it, when he saves up enough energy. Chase, your father, he’s an empath; whatever emotions he feels, he feels them to their absolute fullest, and he can have a general sense of the emotions of others...”

      Elyse spoke softly as Jackie took a breath, her eyes clouded and scared.

      “What about our dad…? If he was one of you… you “egos”… why would he not tell us we’d be the same? What happened to you guys?”

      Jackie looked at Elyse calmly, hoping to show the four kids this information wasn’t something to fear.

      “Henrik didn’t know you’d be like us… none of us did, actually… When you kids were born, your father asked Marvin to cast protections on you, and again when you five. You don’t remember it because your father didn’t want you to remember…In Henrik’s eyes, the less you had to do with our world and affairs, the safer you’d be. The same would have been done to Greyson if we hadn’t had… a falling out. But he never for that second casting, and so his potential started to awaken, and that got… **his** attention... Kids, I’m so, _so_ sorry this happened…”

      There was a soft thud as Sam stood up, her chair falling as she did so, her eyes were full of confusion and mistrust as she practically yelled.

      “Who is this “he” you keep talking about?! _Why_ did he target my brother? What does he want from us?! Answer the questions!”

      Jackie flinched at the girl’s harsh words, and Chase cleared his throat, motioning for Jackie to remain silent as he spoke.

      “ **He** … the demon is… he’s one of us, in a way. You see, Egos like us, we’re dependent on two things; a host and a following. The more attention an Ego gets, the stronger they are. The host gives us our form, which is why we all look similar to each other, and the following gives us the attention we thrive and survive off of. So **he** … because of how the following sees him, and the attention the give him, it makes him who he is… **He…** wants all the attention and the host to himself, even though it’d end us. I don’t think he initially wanted to target Greyson… Greyson just happened to be the person to connect the dots for him.”

      “Dad, what are you talking about?”

      Chase took a deep breath as he sighed, looking and feeling ashamed.

      “It’s my fault, really… Like Jackie said; I’m an empath… not the strongest mind you, but because of my status as an ego, I have it on good authority that Greyson’s like me, only stronger. Whatever Henrik was feeling; it was strong enough to break through Marvin’s wards and pull Greyson’s subconscious to the void, where… where **He** was. I guess seeing Greyson must have made him realize you had potential… you might even be stronger than we are… and **He** can _not_ get that power, do you understand?”

      Elyse took a shaky breath as she leaned forward, her eyes trained on the cat standing on the table.

      “So, that Demon took our dad because he was one of you…? Why _just_ him then?”

      “No, he didn’t take Henrik because he was an ego… he took him because he’s one of the strongest, and because he was trying to save Jack.”

      “And Jack is… who exactly, in all of this? Is he… the “host” Jackie mentioned?”

      All adults nodded and Elyse took a deep breath before continuing.

      “Okay… so you said we’re supposed to have abilities… so what are they?”

      Marvin moved closer to the kids, sitting down to look them in the eyes, his own burning with a strange fire behind them.

      “We can make a good guess based on Henrik’s own abilities, but I’d rather be certain… but first, I’ll need to get out of this form… it’s restricting my magic.”

      “Okay, so how long will that take?”

      “Not long, with the right incantation… but I’ll need some help… Sam, will you help me?”

      The still standing girl looked shocked as she fumbled for words before taking a deep breath and questioning the cat.

      “Me? What make you thing I can help?”

      Marvin stood and walked closer to her, and she in turn moved closer to the table, as if by instinct. He pressed his soft head against her for a moment before speaking again.

      “You can understand JJ, can’t you? You’ve noticed certain feelings around people and places?”

      Sam nodded, as if in a daze.

      “You’re a magician, just like me. Evocation class, from what I can gather right now… but I promise I’ll be here to help you every step of the way… I just need you to trust me. Can you do that?”

      Sam looked to her father, who’s eyes were shining with pride, but were also so, _so_ tired. She then looked to her friends, who looked equally exhausted, terrified and hopeful, and she finally looked to her brother… Greyson’s eyes were like steel and he only nodded at her as their eyes met. Sam knew what that look meant, and she returned her attention to Marvin.

      “I will. Tell me how I can help you… We can fix you, then we work on finding this demon… and we **_will_** save their dad.”

      Marvin seemed proud as he nodded, his tail flicking slightly before he jumped off the table, which disappeared as he did so.

      “Let’s get started then… we’ve got work to do.”


End file.
